Taking a proactive approach to health is an increasingly popular way to live. More and more people are shunning bad habits in favor of letting their health take center stage in their lives. Here’s how you can optimize your body so you can feel healthier, happier and more energetic.

For many people, fatigue and feeling sluggish is something they experience daily. Most of us accept is as being a part of life. What fewer people do is take a proactive approach to look at what they could be doing to feel better. Many people have habits that are hindering their health and ability to feel as good as they can.

There are a number of aspects of life that people should review on a regular basis to see what can be tweaked to improve health and overall wellbeing. Most people need to try different things to find out what works for them.

Here are 7 of the steps you could be taking to see if they help to optimize your health.

1. Review Nutritional Composition

Most people have an understanding of what they should be consuming to be healthy. Mostly this comprises of eating a certain amount of fruit and vegetables in a day, as well as protein and whole grains. If you do this, your body has all it needs to operate well. If you consistently don’t consume enough of this core nutrition – or if you eat this as well as a lot of sugar and processed foods – you won’t feel as good as you could. Be strict with yourself for a few weeks to see how much of a difference it really makes.

2. Eat Superfoods

Some people struggle to consume the amount of high quality nutrition they need to reach peak health. This is where introducing some superfoods into your diet can help. Superfoods are foods with particularly high nutritional value, and can be a great boost to your overall health and nutrition as a result. Superfoods include berries, green tea, nuts, seeds, kefir, dark leafy greens and more. There are some great superfood powders out there that can be added to drinks, yogurt or smoothies, and some people prefer getting their nutrition this way.

3. Try Special Therapies

The field of optimizing health and wellbeing is pushing forward all the time, and there are certain therapies that people are doing for wellness reasons. One of these is pluripotent stem cell therapy, which take place at specialist centers. Pluripotent stem cells are used by the body to repair itself, so this therapy can be used to help with particular diseases, as well as to improve general wellbeing. Many people report feeling rejuvenated and much healthier after having treatments like this.

4. Breathe Properly

Most people get into a habit of taking quite shallow breaths, and this happens without you really realizing it. Practicing breathing exercises will help you release more toxins from the body, and it can also help improve mental health and a general feeling of wellness. A lot of people get into breathing exercises when they do yoga or practice mindfulness, but it’s something you can do anytime or anywhere. Try some different breathing exercises and see what works for you. In general, taking a deep inhalation of breath, holding your breath for a certain amount of time, and then exhaling slowly, is what you need to do to enjoy some of the many benefits of ‘proper’ breathing.

5. Drink Water

It’s a necessity of life, yet most people do not drink enough water. Research shows that the optimum amount of water a person should drink in a day ranges between 12 cups and 15 cups, depending on your build and weight. You don’t just have to drink pure water to meet this daily threshold, as you could get some of your water from tea and juice too. Just be mindful of not having sugary drinks too often, as these can be detrimental to your overall health. Not drinking enough water can make you tired and prone to headaches, and it means your body works less optimally than it should be.

6. Get Enough Sleep

At least a third of people do not get enough sleep, which leaves them feeling tired during the day, and more likely to overdo the consumption of caffeine and sugary foods. It is easy to get into a cycle that has other negative impacts on health when you don’t get enough sleep. Adults need to get between seven and nine hours of sleep each and every night. This amount of time helps your body repair and restore itself, while generating enough energy to do what you need to do on a daily basis. Many people need to establish better routines to enable better sleep – including having a regular bedtime and ensuring some screen-free time before going to bed.

7. Exercise

Everyone needs exercise in order for their body to function well, so remember that exercise is not just for fitness buffs. Introduce a good routine of exercise into your week that helps with your circulation and muscle conditioning. For some people, a daily walk or something low-impact such as swimming or yoga brings massive benefits. For those who can handle a little more, running or a high intensity fitness program might be more enjoyable. Fitness is great for mental health as well as physical health.